I te rongonga o etahi o nga Parihi ki nga kupu a Ihu, tona haerenga mai ki te ao ki te whakawa, kia kite ai te hunga kahore nei i kite, kia whakamatapotia ai te hunga e kite ana, they asked Jesus if they were also blind. Ka whakahoki a Ihu ki a ratou, if you were blind, you should have no sin: but now you say, kite tatou; therefore your sin remains. He aha te tikanga o Ihu? What do these words of Jesus mean for the church? Ko te Hahi te kite, te matapo ranei?
Jesus made the blind to see, but the seeing blind
The blind man received his sight, because he heard and believed the words of Jesus and obeyed them and therefore he did what Jesus commanded him to do. He believed that Jesus was (a kei kona tonu) Te Karaiti. But the Pharisees, who were scholars of the law and the prophets and should have been acquainted with the words and the will of God and the prophecies about the Christ should have recognized Jesus as the Son of God and the Christ, heoi kihai ratou i whakapono ki nga kupu a Ihu, kihai hoki i whakapono ko Ihu te Karaiti, heoi whakakahoretia ana ia.
Mai ta ratou i ore i tiaturi e na te Atua i tono mai ia Ioane Bapetizo i nia i te fenua nei no te faaineine i te e‘a no te taeraa mai o Iesu Mesia e no reira ratou i ore ai e tiaturi e e haapao i te mau parau e te faaueraa a Ioane Bapetizo e ia tatarahapa e ia bapetizohia. (o.a. Matiu 21:32, Panuitia hoki: Hoani Kaiiriiri, te tangata kihai i tuohu).
E tiaraa mana to te mau Pharisea e ua î roa ratou ia ratou iho e ua tiaturi ratou i to ratou iho paari, matauranga, hinengaro, ka mahi.
He tangata tika ratou me te whakaaro ki a ratou ano he tangata tika, i te mea he kino to ratou ahua, kahore hoki a ratou mahi i rite ki ta te Atua i pai ai.
Nga Parihi’ i matapohia te hinengaro. I whakaaro ratou ko ratou anake i te ture me te whakanui ake i te iwi. Na teie teoteo i tapea ia ratou i roto i te tîtî e ua tapea ia ratou ia faahaehaa ia ratou iho e ia tatarahapa e ia fariu ê i to ratou mau haerea ino e ia fariu i te Atua..
Ko te whakapehapeha o te tangata e kore rawa e kawe i te tangata ki te ripeneta, engari ma te whakapehapeha o te tangata e haere ai te tangata i roto i te pouri, ka mau tonu ki te hara.
Ko te tangata e mea ana ka kite ia engari ka mau tonu ki te hara, ka mau tonu tona hara
Na ka mea a Ihu, I haere mai ahau ki tenei ao ki te whakarite whakawa, kia kite ai te hunga kahore nei e kite; kia whakamatapotia ai te hunga e kite ana. A ka rongo etahi o nga Parihi e tu tahi ana me ia ki enei kupu, ka mea ki a ia, He matapo ano hoki tatou? Ka mea a Ihu ki a ratou, Me he matapo koutou, kia kaua o koutou hara: tena ko tenei ka mea na koutou, Kite tatou; na e mau tonu ana to koutou hara. (Hone 9:39-41)
Ka ui etahi o nga Parihi ki a Ihu, he matapo ano ranei ratou?, Ka whakahoki a Ihu ki a ratou, me he matapo koe kua kore he hara, but now you say, kite tatou, therefore your sin remains. Te parau ra Iesu e mai te peu e te mau Pharisea, whose works were evil and therefore they did things that diametrically oppose the will of God and they didn’t submit to the words and the will of God, were blind then they would have no sin. But because they said they saw, while they walked in darkness and did things that diametrically opposed the will of God and they didn’t submit to the words and the will of God and therefore they sinned, their sin remained.
Jesus testified, that the works of the flesh are evil and everyone, who perseveres in sin walks in darkness and does the lusts and the will of their father the devil, Ko wai te rangatira o tenei ao. If someone perseveres in sin doesn’t walk in the light and doesn’t do the will of God and doesn’t belong to God but the devil (Aue. Hone 8:44, Kolosa 1:21, Titus 1:16, 1 Hone 3:4-10).
Although the person may say he sees, the person is in reality spiritually blind, because the person doesn’t see that the works of the flesh and the darkness are evil, and if the person is aware of the fact that the works of the flesh and the darkness are evil, but do them anyway, the person shall receive greater damnation (Panuitia hoki: Ka taea e koe te hara tonu i raro i te aroha noa?).
What did the Pharisees do wrong?
While the Pharisees were self-righteous and full of themselves and thought they walked piously, Jesus thought otherwise. I roto i a Matiu 23, i roto i etahi atu, Jesus spoke in the temple to the multitude and His disciples about the walk and works of the Pharisees and Scribes.
Jesus didn’t remain silent but exposed their works.
Ofcourse there were many among the chief rulers, who did believe in Jesus, but they didn’t confess Him, kei peia ratou ki waho o te whare karakia, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God (Hone 12:42-43).
But the majority of the Pharisees and Scribes were blind guides, te hunga tinihanga, white sepulchres, nga nakahi, and a generation of vipers, who didn’t remain in the truth of God, just like their father the devil, who didn’t remain in the truth of God but because of his pride became an infidel and fell from his position (Panuitia hoki: Te Pakanga i roto i te kari).
Although the Scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat and taught the people, they did not do what they taught and commanded the people to do. They bound heavy burdens and grievous to be borne and laid them on men’s shoulders, but they would not move them with one of their fingers.
They only did all their works to be seen by the people and admired and worshiped by the people. No reira, they did the works for selfish reasons (Panuitia hoki: Eaha te taa-ê-raa i rotopu ia Iesu e te mau aratai haapaoraa?).
The Pharisees were hypocrites and blind guides
The Pharisees and Scribes were hypocrites; actors of the stage of life, who played the role of something which they were not, no te mea:
- They shut up the Kingdom of God against men, for they neither went in themselves, neither suffered they them that were entering to go in
- They devoured widows’ houses and for a pretense made long prayer
- They compassed sea and land to make one proselyte and when he was made they made him twofold more the child of hell than themselves
- The paid tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and had omitted the weightier matters of the law, whakawa, atawhai, me te whakapono.
- They were blind guides, that strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel
- They cleansed the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they were full of extortion and excess.
- They were like whited sepulchres, which indeed appeared beautiful outward, but were within full of dead men’s bones, me nga mea poke katoa. Even so they also outwardly appeared righteous unto men, but within they were full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
- They built the tombs of the prophets, and garnished the sepulchres of the righteous, Na ka mea, If they had been in the days of their fathers, they would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore they were witnesses unto themselves, that they were the children of them which killed the prophets and would fill up the measures of their fathers.
The Pharisees and Scribes were serpents, a generation of vipers. How could they escape the damnation of hell?
Jesus prophesied and told the Pharisees and Scribes, that He would send unto them prophets, me nga tangata whakaaro nui, me nga karaipi: and some of them they would kill and crucify; and some of them they would scourge in their synagogues, a whakatoia ana ratou i tetahi pa ki tetahi pa:, so that upon them might come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, No te toto o Apera tangata tika, tae noa ki te toto o Hakaraia tama a Parakia, whom they slew between the temple and the altar (Panuitia hoki: No te aha te Atua i ore ai i faatura i te tusia a Kaina?).
What did the Pharisees do after being confronted with the Word?
After Jesus had spoken these words and had confronted the Pharisees and Scribes with their sins, the Pharisees and Scribes had again a choice, through the confrontation with the Word and the conviction of their sin, to humble themselves and repent or not.
The Pharisees chose the latter, whereby the words of Jesus became fulfilled and they not only killed Jesus Christ, te Tama a te Atua, and had Him crucified, but they also persecuted His Church and even killed some of the Church to silence the believers and extinguish the light (Panuitia hoki: Me pehea te pouri e tinei ai te marama).
Na kei te tupu tonu tenei, because the same spirit that worked in the Pharisees and Scribes is still active and at work in the lives of many church leaders (Panuitia hoki: He aha nga rite o nga rangatira o nga iwi o te Atua ka inaianei?)
Jesus and the apostles warned the believers of false prophets and false teachers
E whakatika hoki nga Karaiti teka, me nga poropiti teka, e homai ano e ia nga tohu me nga mea whakamiharo, ki te whakapohehe, mehemea ka taea, ara te hunga whiriwhiri. Engari kia tupato: nana, Kua korerotia e ahau nga mea katoa ki a koutou (Mark 13:22-23 (Also Matthew 24:24-25))
Kia tupato ki nga poropiti teka, e haere atu nei ki a koutou, he hipi te kakahu, ko roto ia he wuruhi kai kino. Ma o ratou hua ka mohiotia ai ratou e koutou (Matiu 7:15-16)
Otira tera ano etahi poropiti teka i roto i te iwi, pera hoki me nga kai whakaako teka e puta ake i roto i a koutou, ma ratou e kawe puku mai nga titorehanga whakamate, me te whakakahore ano ki te Ariki nana ratou i hoko, a hohoro tonu te kawe mai i te whakangaromanga ki a ratou ano. A he tokomaha e whai i o ratou tikanga whakarihariha; ma ratou e korerotia kinotia te ara o te pono. He apo moni hoki e tito kupu ai ratou kia whai taonga ai ratou ia koe: Ko tana whakawa i mua noa atu, kahore e whakaroa, e kore ano to ratou mate e moe (2 Pita 2:1-3)
Arohanui, kaua e whakaponohia nga wairua katoa, engari me whakamatau nga wairua no te Atua ranei: he tokomaha hoki nga poropiti teka kua haere mai ki te ao. Ma konei koutou ka matau ai ki te Wairua o te Atua: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: ko te wairua o anatikaraiti tenei, i rongo ai koutou tera e haere mai; kei te ao nei ano inaianei (1 Hone 4:1-3)
Jesus and then the apostles prophesied and warned the believers about this in their letters, since they knew their adversary, te rewera, and were acquainted with his works.
They knew that their enemy was not indirectly people, but their enemy was the one, who has dominion over people, no te ao (te pouri), and controls them; te rewera.
Ko nga apotoro me nga akonga a Ihu ehara i te kikokiko engari he rite tonu ki a Ihu te wairua na roto i te whanautanga hou i roto i a te Karaiti. I mohio ratou he hoia ratou na te Karaiti i roto i te pakanga wairua me te mahi i tona kaha i runga i te whenua, a kihai i whawhai ki te kikokiko me te toto engari ki nga rangatiratanga., mana, nga rangatira o te pouri o tenei ao, ki te kino wairua i nga wahi tiketike, tēra, i roto i etahi atu, i kingi i roto i nga oranga o nga kaiarahi whakapono matapo me te whakatoi i te Hahi a te Karaiti, kei te kaha tonu me te mahi i roto i te oranga o te tini o nga tangata., tae atu ki nga rangatira o nga hahi maha.
Ko te Hahi te kite, te matapo ranei?
He matapo ona kaitiaki: he kuare katoa ratou, he kuri wahangu katoa ratou, e kore e taea e ratou te kiri; e moe ana, e takoto ana, e aroha ana ki te moe. Āe, he kuri apo e kore rawa e makona, he hepara ratou e kore e matau: ka anga katoa ratou ki to ratou ake ara, hei taonga mo tena, mo tena, mai i tona hauwhā. Haere mai koutou, e kii ana ratou, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Ihaia 56:10-12)
Because the Church has not listened to the Word and has ignored the warnings of the Word and the Holy Spirit and has not been spiritually awake, but is misled, through the deceptive spirits of darkness, a change has taken place in the Church and the Body of Christ moved from the Spirit to the flesh, whereby the spirits of darkness have been given free rein and the devil has established his throne in many churches (Panuitia hoki: Ko te torona o Hatana a He pehea te whakareri i te ao mo te anatikaraiti).
Many believers don’t fear the Lord anymore and the knowledge of the will of God and His Kingdom and of good and evil is gone. They don’t discern the spirits, but they have become prideful and refuse to submit to Jesus Christ; te Word, and change and keep His commandments.
Many have become lukewarm regarding the things of the Spirit and the Kingdom of God and have become indifferent toward sin and unrighteousness.
They don’t consider sin as evil; as the will of the devil and the fruit of death, but they consider sin as normal and part of human nature.
They have normalized sin, so they don’t have to change and put off the old man, engari mahia nga mahi a te kikokiko, and because of that their lives remain unchanged and they keep living like the world. They don’t testify of Jesus Christ and don’t call their neighbors to repentance but let them alone and speak what they want to hear because they don’t want to cause problems (Panuitia hoki: Mena kei te noho puku nga Karaitiana, Ma wai e whakatu nga whakarau i te pouri?)
And so many say they are born again and are spiritual and see and think they live in the truth, while their works testify that they are blind and still walk in darkness and do the lust of their father, rite ki nga Parihi, who didn’t see but were blind.
And because they say they see, and therefore they say that they are acquainted with the will of God and have the knowledge and spiritual understanding and know that sin is not good but evil, and so continue to sin willfully, their sins shall remain.
'Kia tote mo te whenua’
